<p>so I might be transferring to USF this Fall, still not completely sure yet since I'm waiting to hear back from some other schools, but I was wondering if anyone could tell me what the city of Tampa is like/the surrounding area of USF? I'm from the Miami/Ft.Lauderdale area and I've only been to Tampa once to go to Busch Gardens but I couldn't really get an idea of what the what the city is really like since I was only there for a few hours haha. is it a fun area for us college-aged students? are there plenty of fun and cool things to do? I just want to try and get more of an idea of what Tampa is like since I can't visit just yet</p>
<p>Well, the Busch Gardens area is the campus area, so at least you’ve been there before. Busch Gardens is right across the street from campus. If you live on campus (or are on campus a lot) you can hop on the bus and just go any day you want. </p>
<p>Aside from that, the area immediately around campus has a bit of everything, all kinds of restaurants, bars, clubs, and shops. There isn’t anything you can’t find around that area.<br>
If you’re looking for nightlife, there’s Ybor city just about 15 minutes away, and that is the centre of Tampa nightlife. Beyond that, there is Hyde Park and Channelside, and the beaches are about 45 minutes away.</p>
<p>Without getting long winded, the Tampa Bay area is much similar to Miami/Broward in many ways–maybe just a little slower paced and with a less crowded feeling. Tampa is less tropical than Miami and gets some hard freezes sometimes in the winter. By contrast, “country towns” like Tallahassee and Gainesville can be quite a cultural shock for some students coming up from the Miami/Broward/Palm Beach area.</p>
<p>When people think of college towns in Florida they typically think of places like Gainesville, or Tallahassee (haven’t really had the time to go to the Capital so I’m not quite sure). When I think of Tampa I think of it as a college “city.” I’m not very familiar with Miami, but Tampa is definitely a fun place to be because it has EVERYTHING. You’ve got, as mentioned, the theme parks like Busch Gardens and Adventure Island, the Ybor Clubs, shopping areas like International Plaza, the Bucs, Rays, Lighting, and of course access to world famous beaches. While I think Gainesville is cute town, I would probably go crazy if I stayed there for more than a week because there really isn’t anything to do there.</p>
<p>I’m not too fond of Tampa personally. It was very poorly planned, there is a lot of crime, and extensive portions of the city are blighted.</p>
<p>Gee Gordon, that is an unnecessary broadbrushed condemnation of Tampa. Every sizeable city in Florida has the same problems you listed.</p>
<p>Actually, I’ve visited every large/major city in Florida and I’d rank them as follows:</p>
<p>Ft. Lauderdale
West Palm Beach
Orlando
Miami
St. Petersburg
.
.
Tampa
Jacksonville</p>
<p>Most of these other cities were at least planned better. There was essentially no planning with Tampa because everything is so spread out. The CBD is Westshore, not downtown which most people would find puzzling. Everyone considers South Tampa to be the nicest area of town but even the Hyde Park area isn’t so great in my opinion. We’re in Florida but Tampa really is nowhere near the beach. The majority of the city is plagued by poverty. (Everything from Busch blvd all the way to Ybor.) Most cities at least have somewhere that stands out as being especially nice (Orlando-Winter Park, Lake Eola, Windermere; Miami- Coral Gables, Bal Harbour, etc.) and Tampa just doesn’t have that. All Tampa really has is Busch Gardens and I was really disappointed when I went there.</p>
<p>From Busch Blvd to Ybor is hardly “the majority of the city”.</p>
<p>Well, that’s about 7 miles of a rough patch of town. Also BBD to Dale Mabry… Even Kennedy blvd is sorta run down… I’m not saying the whole town is bad because it isn’t. The USF area isn’t great but it is okay. It’s actually probably a blessing USF isn’t in an exclusive neighborhood because housing is cheaper.</p>
<p>Gordon, the Congressional Quarterly’s 2010 City Crime Rate Rankings, compiled from FBI records, indicates Tampa has less violent crime than any of the other Florida cities on your list. National ranking for violent crime (lower the rank #, the worse the crime rate): St. Pete 31; Orlando 46; Miami 51; West Palm Beach 59; Gainesville 86; Jacksonville 89; Tallahassee 92; Ft. Lauderdale 101; Tampa 155. You’re more likely to get your head skinned in any of your preferred Florida cities than Tampa. <a href=“http://os.cqpress.com/citycrime/2010/City_crime_rate_2010-2011_hightolow.pdf[/url]”>http://os.cqpress.com/citycrime/2010/City_crime_rate_2010-2011_hightolow.pdf</a></p>
<p>Too, USF is working in the Tampa community to make its own neighborhood better–there is always room for improvement. <a href=“http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/economicdevelopment/usf-moffitt-busch-gardens-and-university-community-hospital-form-tampa/1179963[/url]”>http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/economicdevelopment/usf-moffitt-busch-gardens-and-university-community-hospital-form-tampa/1179963</a></p>